Arrested For Telling The Truth.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2808822/Ordeal-OAP-quipped-m-not-Muslim-airport-security-stopped-Man-spends-six-months-facing-racism-charges-case-finally-dropped.html

[baza]

Says it all really, airport security does not target certain people, only mature white ones.

[ToraToraTora]

standard stuff for these types, give them some power, they love to mis use it.

[237SJ]

I`m glad he had the sense to stand up for himself and refuse to accept the caution.

[factor-fiction]

I'd be too embarrassed at the silly comment to talk to the press about it. Why does this man think only Muslims should have to be checked?

[jim360]

A bit of a careless remark, perhaps, but there's no justification for six-month criminal proceedings. A stern look would have been enough.

[bookbinder]

A lesson to be learnt here; don't try to be humorous when you're standing in front of a security official.

[BlackadderV]

Quite right. Pathetic! I don't know if any of you can remember the film Airplane (1980, a spoof) in which all of the bearded Asians, armed with rifles and bullets, were waved through security whilst the hapless little old white lady was wrestled to the floor.

[sunny-dave]

He was guilty though ... of not understanding precisely where the power lies in that particular interaction and behaving accordingly.

I may (and indeed often do) rail and moan on here about the utterly useless and incompetent UKBA (or whatever they are called this week) ...

... but at an airport, queuing for immigration, I am very, very quiet and polite.

[Zeuhl]

Six of one and half a dozen of the other

clearly the gentleman is being disingenuous:
‘all because I asked a question and apparently dared to use the M word.’

No

He was implying that only Muslims should be subjected to anti-terrorist searches - which is both stupid and rude

However, any notion that charges for racially or religiously aggravated disorder would be appropriate was way over the top.

Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS East of England, Frank Ferguson said: 'Following receipt of the evidential file a full review of the evidence took place.

'In order to successfully prosecute a charge of racially or religiously aggravated disorderly conduct, we first have to show that the language used was threatening or abusive'

Well that should have been obvious at the start and a word in his shell-like sufficient - saving a lot of expense and stress


R

[douglas9401]

"A security guard accused him of racism and called the police, saying he was upset by the remark."

Sounds like somebody either in the wrong job or just looking for a wee break in a long shift from smelling other people's sweaty footwear.
A nonsense, as usual.

[AlwaysConfused]

What a pathetic waste of time, and time = money. The pensioner made what he thought was a light-hearted joke. What an overreaction.

[chrissa1]

Ridiculous.

[EDDIE51]

T

[EDDIE51]

The remark WAS racist as it suggested that only Muslims should be checked.

[sunny-dave]

Has the swearywordfilter cut out all your answer Eddie?

[sunny-dave]

... and I must type faster :)

[factor-fiction]

Surely there is a good chance that any Muslims in the queue would have found it offensive. The implication of what he said was clear to me.

[-Talbot-]

Stupid comment backed up by an equally stupid response.

[Orderlimit]

Much worse than this happens in the real world

[factor-fiction]

I think that there may have been a better way of dealing with it though- maybe making him go to the back of the queue.
It may have mean meant as light hearted but so are those comments by travellers who unwisely joke that they have a gun/bomb in their luggage the security staff don't take kindly to such comments.

I would hope the trades union would take a zero tolerance stance on racism as the union will undoubtedly have members of different races